Girls Volleyball Recovers after Faltering in the Third Set to Defeat BB&N

By Andy Kim

In the second set of its match, Andover Girls Volleyball was down 4-3 to BB&N until newcomer Brooke Fleming ’20 launched an unreturnable serve to win the point and eventually the match. Fleming replicated this precise service play throughout the set, producing a run consisting of 10 consecutive winning serves to earn her team a 14-4 lead. Andover ultimately captured a four-set victory.

Post-Graduate (PG) Margot Forti ’17 and Serena Liu ’19 were crucial players throughout the match, participating in every set. Forti controlled play with her lethal spike, and Liu, the starting libero, laid out for fantastic saves and deftly set up her teammates with easy spike opportunities.

In an interview with The Phillipian, Sewon Park ’17 said, “[Serena is] only a Lower but she’s our starting libero. She [can layout really well and] she always anticipates [where] the ball [is headed]. She sees the ball before it even passes the net really. She [always] knows exactly where it’s going, and you can just tell that she’s giving it her all.”

“We have a lot of new people this year who are joining our starting lineup, and Margot is a PG who really helps to dominate the outside,” continued Park.

Despite coasting to consecutive wins in the first two sets, Andover faltered in the third, falling 25-16.

Captain Evelyn Mesler ’17, however, refocused the team at the beginning of the fourth set, allowing the team to perform to its usual capacity. The final set ended with a score of 25-9.

“[Evelyn has] been with the team from the beginning,” said Park. “I really think she shows leadership by how she sees every situation. When we’re down or if we’re not playing as well as we can [be,] while you would think to be negative or [to] be sad about your performance, Evelyn is always, always positive and she always has something positive to say and how we can do better.”

After Wednesday’s victory, Andover looks to find continued success in its four team tournament against Hotchkiss, Taft, and Phillips Exeter Academy this Saturday.